Don't Let Go
by Decipher Philosophy
Summary: An AU where it was Ino who tries to stop Sasuke from leaving the village instead of Sakura. A REUPLOAD.


A/N: An alternate universe where it was Ino who met Sasuke that night he decided to join Orochimaru instead of Sakura.

IT WILL BE COMPLETELY OOC because (RANT) _though it's been a year since the last chapter of Naruto, I cannot let go of my dissatisfaction of Ino's development as a ninja. Yeah, she's a girl who wants to be girly and her Yamanaka abilities make her mostly useful off the field, but by gawd, she can be a kickass ninja on and off the field. She's trained by Asuma sensei of all people (It makes me mad that there isn't also a deep relationship or growth between the two!), and her role in the fight against Kakuzu and Hidan just annoyed me. She should know the mind destruction jutsus and other jutsus while also studying under Lady Tsunade as a medical-nin. If Sakura can do that (though not as quickly as her, but still have the time to train in other areas), why can't she?_

 _Ino's ninja skills literally baffles me for part 1 and some of part 2 when not counting the fillers. As someone who had to be trained in her clan's jutsu's, you'd think she'd have efficient control of her chakra as much as Sakura. Not because she's a natural like Sakura, but because handling something as complex as her jutsus that deals with the mind should've been trained to be as good at handling chakra as Sakura._

 _It irritates me how her training resulted in just being support unlike Shikamaru and Chouji who had their screen time._

 _It also bothers me of how little techniques are introduced from the Yamanaka clan. They literally have psionic ninjutsu abilities that could range to different types of techniques that doesn't have to relate to intelligence gathering and the such. There are many mind-related jutsus that can make the members become more capable in a battle situation like the mind destruction jutsu. But then again, the mind is complex, so I guess it would take time for more techniques to be learned and used. The techniques already introduced proved useful in the war and other events, but I just wished there were more._

EDIT: I reuploaded this to rid of the second part since I discontinued it.

._._._.

Don't Let Go

Ino Yamanaka was worried for Sakura. Her best friend had been nonstop worrying for Sasuke since he got injured after what happened at the chuunin exams.

Ino was worried for Sasuke as well, but she knew that she was an outsider. She was aware that something was wrong since the forest, but Sakura had a better understanding of what was happening, so she knew her feelings were nothing compared to how her best friend must be feeling since her and Sasuke had spent time together as teammates. Though she had no romantic feelings for Shikamaru or Chouji, she couldn't bear the thought of them being injured by the enemy.

Understanding her place, Ino decided that despite how much she wanted to help, it was best to let team 7 handle it.

"Alright, Ino. It's been awhile since what happened at the chuunin exams. I hope you're not slacking off on your training like Shikamaru or Chouji." Asuma somewhat kidded. The two other males were being late to their training session again, and would most likely not be around for over an hour or so. This wasn't too bad since that gave Asuma time to concentrate on Ino.

"Of course not! Don't compare me to those two!" The blonde answered, sounding insulted. "And there's noway I'm going to tie with Sakura a second time!"

He smirked at that. Though she was a troublesome loudmouth, Ino was one of his finest students. He's usually a laid-back guy, but he was always serious when it came to training. "Though, I must say I'm surprised that you tied with her since I've been teaching you taijutsu, which is one of my specialties. As the Yamanaka heiress, your jutsus can leave you vulnerable, and it's ineffective unless Shikamaru is with you. Yet, you displayed cleverness through deceit and improvisation. However, I can't help thinking that you have been holding back for Sakura's sake. I am fully aware that Sakura has skills of her own, but I have yet to see you fully use yours during that fight."

"You should also remember that the fight took place after spending five days in a forest filled with ninjas running after us."

"So it was all down to chakra."

"Exactly! But I won't go easy on her next time!" His student promised.

Asuma wondered what was the truth. Was Ino holding back, was Sakura making her seem like an amateur, or was chakra the decider of that battle? Either way, he guessed it was fine. He just had to focus on improving Ino's skills.

"Alright then. Back to the training session, remember what I taught you, Ino."

"Yes." She recited his lesson, "In the Ino-Shika-Chou formation, Shikamaru's position is the capture the enemy, Chouji's position is to be our muscle, and my position is to retrieve the vital information from the enemy and spread it with utmost care and secrecy. As the Yamanaka member of the ino-shika-cho formation, my jutsus at the moment relies on Shikamaru, and it is used mainly for information retrieval, which can make me a vital target. So just in case we were to be separated, Asuma-sensei teaches me taijutsu, so I won't be left vulnerable to the enemy, and the information that I have will not fall into the enemy."

"Good. But I'm not only teaching you taijutsu because of those reasons. It's also important that you are capable of predicting your enemies' movements in an instant, so you may be able to use the mind transfer jutsu without Shikamaru. That way you can use the jutsu on birds that will be out of his reach. You've already showed signs of using this ability when we spar. Now let's improve that." Asuma rose his arms as he got his legs in position.

Ino nodded, and took on her own stance.

Asuma launched himself at her, but not at full speed, yet it was a little above Ino's. She knew this, so stepped up her own speed to match and hopefully, surpass his.

The two battled for over an hour. While they did, Shikamaru came around and stuck to just watching them from a tree branch with Chouji at the ground enjoying his chips and the show. "Wow. Ino's getting pretty good at catching up to Asuma sensei. I wonder if I can do that, too."

Shikamaru didn't bother replying.

On the field, Ino was able to block another blow from her sensei, and then, she quickly knew his next move was going to be a kick, which she countered with quickly grabbing her kunai, get on one of her knees, and waiting for her weapon to dig into the swift blow. Yet, Asuma pulled his leg back to change the direction of his kick. Yet, his body remained still.

Shikamaru and Chouji's eyes widened when they saw two Ino on the battlefield. The one behind Asuma was the one who performed the mind transfer jutsu.

"Eh? A shadow clone?" Asuma was still able to speak for himself as the other clone disappeared.

Ino took over to explain, "What? You thought Naruto is the only one who can do it? I mean, I can't form as many as he could, but one's enough, y'know."

The boys in her team thought it was weird because her mannerisms did not match their sensei at all.

"Whoa, Ino! That was amazing!" Chouji complimented her.

"I know right! Just comes to show who's the best kunoichi there is!"

"Heh." Shikamaru chuckled. "I bet you only mastered that jutsu so you can go shopping while your clone watches over the shop on a slow day."

Ino flinched at being caught. "And what's wrong with that?!" She defended with Asuma's angry face.

Their sensei began feeling weird, too. Though this happened on several training sessions, having a thirteen-year-old girl inside him wasn't a treat. "Alright Ino, that's enough. Ino, you can take a break. It's these two's turn."

"Righty!" She exited her sensei, and made her way to the packed lunch she had.

Chouji wondered what she bought while Shikamaru complained about their turn to train.

A few days later after the training session and the barbecue treat by her sensei, she made her way to her place. She met Sakura's mom on her way, and the woman let her know that her daughter had caught a rather nasty cold, but refuses to remain in bed. Just last night, she collapsed when she tried to sneak out of the house at night.

Ino was stunned by this, and she immediately knew why her best friend would do such a thing. Though she was an outsider, it didn't mean she couldn't check up on Sakura, so she followed her mother to her room, and the woman wasn't wrong when she said that it was nasty. Sakura's face was pale, yet flushed with heat. Her eyelids were droopy, and her throat must be sore by how rugged her cough sounded. Medicine and water was one her bedside table while a bowl of cool water was set on a low table next to a chair.

Her mother alerted her that she had come to visit, and changed the wet towel on her daughter's forehead. She then left them to talk.

"Hey Sakura. I heard from your mom that you were sick." Ino said cheerily, but not too loud.

"Ino..."

"It's okay. You don't have to talk. I just came to see how you're doing. Next time, I'll bring some-"

"Sasuke." The sick girl rasped.

"Hm?"

"Sasuke." She rasped again. Fresh, disappointed tears flowed down her cheek. "He's going to leave with Orochimaru. He's going to leave Konoha. Na...COUGH! COUGH!" She roughly coughed, and then winced. Ino was confused as quickly helped Sakura drink some water to soothe her throat. Sakura felt better, yet it was still difficult to talk, but Sakura needed to reach out to someone to stop Sasuke. She needed Ino to tell Naruto. "That mark...Sasuke is going to the man who gave him that mark."

Ino remembered Sakura and her sensei talking about a mark, and she remembered the dark aura that Sasuke suddenly had in the forest. Black marks had appeared on his body during that time.

"Please...stop him." Sakura was about to say to go tell Naruto, but then her mother walked in.

"Ino, it's getting quite dark. You should be heading home soon." The woman told her. "Sakura needs all the rest she needs."

"Uhm," Ino didn't want Sakura to repeat what she said in front of her mother, so she excused herself. She was still a bit baffled by Sakura's words, but the one thing that was clear was that Sasuke planned to leave the village to go to the man who gave him that mark that darkened his aura. She didn't know why, but she knew she had to help. She didn't know how to find Kakashi-sensei, so she figured telling Naruto would be enough since he keeps in contact with him.

She told this to him at his place, and letting him know she didn't know the whole story, but it seemed really serious for Sasuke. Yet, Naruto reassured her that Sakura was worrying for nothing. Sasuke wouldn't leave the village. Ino asked him why he would bother leaving though, and Naruto didn't give her details, but did give her the summary that Sasuke wanted vengeance. Ino immediately understood that it could be for the Uchiha clan, which she was aware had been massacred when she was seven.

Though that may be a very good incentive, Ino let herself believe Naruto because Sasuke was a genius after all. She ignored this for the rest of the day, but in the middle of the night, she couldn't ignore how grave Sakura's warning was. Nearly every ninja in Konoha was busy. Asuma only had the time because he had breaks between his missions. In that way, it would be easy for Sasuke to slip away and not be noticed until it was too late.

She knew that there was only one road that led to the exit of the village. In fear for Sasuke and Sakura, she quickly ran to the road, and didn't see Sasuke anywhere when she got there. She didn't know if this was a good or bad thing, but if he didn't leave yet, then she didn't want to risk missing him. She remained at the road for a few more minutes before she saw someone walking her way.

When it came closer, she gasped.

Sasuke picked up his head to see Ino who was surprised to see him. She saw that he was wearing a backpack. The boy couldn't help curiously asking, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Ino hesitated to answer at first. She just couldn't believe that Sasuke would actually do this, but it was true, and she had to confront it. "Sakura told me that you would be leaving the village. She's sick right now, so I had to see it for myself."

Sasuke felt a slight throb of annoyance by this. "This is none of your business. You should go back to bed."

That didn't sway the girl. "I know it's none of my business, but Sakura was really worried for you even when she's sick to the point of passing out on the way out of her house to get to you. As her friend, I can't ignore this."

"Sakura's concerns have nothing to do with me." Sasuke tried to pass, but Ino was quickly to step in the way. "Don't get in my way." He spoke with a warning tone.

Ino felt a pang of fear, but she stood strong. "Look, I don't know the whole story, but I know enough. You're going to leave to meet the guy who gave you a mark that changed your chakra, and the reason why you're doing it is because you want to become strong enough to seek vengeance against the person who caused the massacre of your clan."

"Hmph. Did you figure that out yourself. So there's a brain in your blond head, after all." Sasuke insulted her to at least get her agitated enough just to let him leave. Yet, Ino was not emotionally weak nor easy to manipulate.

"Go ahead and insult me all you want. I'm not here for me. I'm here for Sakura and Naruto. They are your team, Sasuke. They are your family. They're worried about you, and are only thinking about what's good for you, and they believe that you're walking down the wrong path. The three of you can become stronger together."

"No, we can't. They're a hindrance to my potential." Sasuke thought about his teammates and what Kakashi said, but he also thought about Itachi and the power that Naruto exhibited. "I'm not like Sakura or Naruto or any of you. My team isn't like yours destined to walk the same path. My team was set to walk different paths that we must walk. At first, I thought completing my missions with them was my path, but even after everything we've been through...my heart still tells me that...I am an avenger. That is why I live. I could never be like you or anyone else."

Ino listened carefully to his words, and then nodded her head down. "I understand. I always knew that you were harboring a pain that not many can help heal you from, and if it was my clan that was massacred, I would want to do whatever it took to take down the person responsible. But your filled with so much hatred that you don't see that the person you're after is controlling you. Trust me. I come from a family of ninjas, and I have met many who have walked the path of vengeance or knew someone who did. I want you to have your vengeance because your family deserves justice, but what your family would've wanted for you is to have people who care for you around you. You have that now, so you don't have to fight alone, Sasuke. You can have your vengeance, and still have a path to walk after that with people who love you if you stay here."

Sasuke stared at Ino whose eyes did not waver from her words. He thought about his teammates again with her words.

"..."

He walked passed her.

"You can only say those words because you formed a bond with your teammates that you consider your family. But that doesn't change the fact that Naruto, Sakura, and I are destined to walk different paths." He remembered the whole to the rooftop's water tower and the humiliating defeat he was dealt with by Itachi. No words can reach him now.

"I see. So that's your answer." Ino turned around. Sasuke quickly caught her kunai. The kunoichi told him with all seriousness, "Whatever you choose is your decision, Sasuke. Like you said, this is none of my business, and I only hope that Sakura and Naruto will reach out to you. However as a ninja of Konoha, it is my responsibility to not allow a fellow ninja to become a missing-nin or else such an act will be punishable by death."

"You can't seriously be thinking of fighting me. You who couldn't even defeat Sakura." Sasuke pointed out.

"It doesn't hurt to try." She said sweetly.

Sasuke figured that he should've done this to begin with, so with his quick reflexes, he appeared behind Ino to knock her out, but she was quick to react with her elbow which he blocked. She jumped away from him, and then leaped towards him. The two entered into hand-to-hand combat. Sasuke thought he would have the upper hand since Ino's specialty wasn't close range.

However, the kunoichi proved to be skilled at it as she could both block, dodge and throw a hit fluidly. Sasuke backed away to comment, "So you actually have skill."

"I didn't graduate at the top of our class for nothing." She flirted to let his guard down a little since no one can take a flirt too seriously.

As much as Sasuke wanted to humor her, he had an important appointment to make. It was his fault for underestimating her, and that was something she was counting on. He wanted to use his flame jutsus, but he knew better than to do something that would attract troublesome attention. Something else that Ino was also very aware of. However, at the same time, Ino could throw an explosive tag or something to alert those around them about this event.

Sasuke pointed this out.

Ino breathed in deeply before she explained herself, "That's because if I do that, The 5th might have you put under house surveillance or jail to keep you here. You staying here has to be your choice, Sasuke. Otherwise, you'd just try to run away again."

That statement contradicted with her reason for this fight earlier. "Then why are you trying to stop me now?"

"To show that I care, and that everyone else cares if you leave." Ino told him sincerely.

Yet, Sasuke quickly threw away such kind words. "That's not enough to make me stay. I must become stronger on my own. That is my own path to walk alone."

Ino stared at Sasuke. The boy she had a crush on when she was young, the boy who destroyed the friendship she had with Sakura indirectly, and the person who Sakura trained to be strong for, so he could acknowledge her. She didn't know the relationship between Sasuke and Naruto well, but there was an obvious rivalry between the two, and from experience, she knew rivalries bought those closest together yet also farthest apart.

He wished for vengeance which she understood, but his stubbornness to not depend on his friends was something she didn't. The willingness to go to a man who could most likely not be trusted was someone who Sasuke could rely on more than his teammates. That was crazy to her, yet she wasn't Sasuke. She could sympathize, but not empathize when his pain was far too deep for her to reach into.

She was also far weaker, so despite holding up her own in this fight, she knew she was bound to lose sooner and later, and Sasuke would disappear before she could reach out for help.

 _"Disappear..."_ Ino felt her heart sink at the thought of never seeing him again. She didn't want that, but who was she to chose his path. She felt a ticklish feeling in her hand for that explosive tag to alert the remaining authority in the village. But such an act could be fruitless because the man might come for Sasuke himself, and the two would disappear together anyway.

She didn't know what was the correct answer to this, or if she could answer in the first place. She knew she was wasting time, and Sasuke could just disappear now, so she quickly thought about what to do, and in the end she made a choice.

"Sasuke...What I have left to say is that the course of vengeance you plan to take won't make you happy. No course of vengeance will, but in the aftermath, you could be if you remain here. Please, think of your life after you've done what you sought to do, Sasuke!" She practically begged him.

And the answer she got was, "I'll figure that out, after I kill my brother."

Ino gasped at the horrifying discovery that the person who committed the massacre was by a family relative who she never knew of. Though she was confused by how someone could do such an act on their family, her heart quickly reached out for Sasuke, and she hugged him. The boy who avoided his emotions just looked at her blankly, seeing her tears pour for him. Though he let himself feel nothing, he didn't push her off.

"Are we finished here?" He coldly inquired.

Ino didn't mind the coldness because of the situation. She didn't want to let go of Sasuke, but she could feel him step away from her, so she let go. She let him know, "I always knew I couldn't stop you, but I beg of you, when Naruto and Sakura comes for you, please hear them out! Please see that you don't have to be alone on your path!"

Sasuke simply stared at her teary face that wished for him to not be alone, to make the right choices, and realize that that was by remaining here in Konoha, but he turned away. This wasn't her business after all. And thus, now that her guard was lowered, Sasuke was able to appear behind her, but before he knocked her out, he whispered to her, "Their words won't mean anything to me." And he heard her whisper a word that he didn't know if she said out of spite or delusional belief.

"Liar."

She fell forward, but Sasuke caught her limped body and made her lie against him. He carried her over to the bench nearby, and then left her there.

And just as fate would have it, he left with the sound ninjas. Ino would report about Sasuke missing to the hokage, and Shikamaru would be called in to form a team to fetch him. Ino would go back home, pondering on whether she did what was right or wrong, while Sakura who felt much better, tearfully asked for Naruto to promise her that he would bring Sasuke back.

Naruto made that foolish promise, only to come back empty handed with his teammates in need of medical attention. Ino quickly went out to see how Chouji was doing, and a part of her regretted letting Sasuke go that night.

If only she had forced him to stay, her teammates wouldn't have had to suffer. If only she had been reliable enough for Shikamaru to call on for help, she could've been useful.

She hated the feelings of guilt inside her, that she just had to confess, "Guys...I was the one who reported that Sasuke was missing." Ino revealed to Chouji and Shikamaru when the two were visiting him at the hospital after he made a good recovery.

"What?" Her teammates were shocked to hear this.

She explained what happened the night before, and she felt so stupid for not alerting the authority. She didn't think they had so little help that Tsunade had to rely on Shikamaru and her classmates for the mission. If she had just done that, and let Sasuke escape another time, there would've been more qualified people on the move, and less casualties.

She cried at her stupidity. "I'm sorry."

"Don't cry, Ino. It's not your fault." Chouji told her kindly.

"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed. "In a situation like that, Sasuke would've just ran away faster if you alerted the authorities with those sound ninjas, and probably disappear without a trace. At least they didn't expect us, and we were able to get Sasuke's final answer. Not that I'm surprised that he didn't come back."

Ino thought back to that night, and she wasn't surprised either. He was such a stubborn boy. "Yeah..."

Chouji and Shikamaru did their best to cheer her up. Ino didn't bother to tell Sakura about that night since she feared it would create a rift between their friendship again.

For the next three years, she tried to be Sakura's best friend who could console her when she got depressed over Sasuke. The two of them trained, laughed, and became chuunins together. Then the attack by Pain happened, and much was destroyed while a war was coming. She did her best to prepare for it, but she wasn't prepared when Sasuke was made into an international criminal after the things he did. She couldn't help crying about it through the night, but eventually, for the sake of her teammates and the war, she pushed her feelings aside and trusted Naruto to bring Sasuke home.

And Naruto did.

Naruto finally bought Sasuke home. It was only for a short time, but he was no longer an international criminal anymore, and once again a ninja of Konoha. It was one of the things Ino was grateful for happening after all the grief and pain that the war dealt her.

When he was at the road that was near the gates of the village, and Ino happened to be there, the two locked eyes. The night that happened years ago flashed before them. Ino felt that she should have ill-will against him for all the trouble he made, but all she felt was relief since he hadn't completely carried out anything that she couldn't forgive him for. Bygones will be bygones.

Though Sasuke made no reaction at the sight of her, she smiled a cheerful, welcoming smile.

"Welcome back, Sasuke-kun!"


End file.
